An Umbilical Cord Prolapse Can Cause Cerebral Palsy, a Brain Damaged Baby or a Stillbirth

An umbilical cord prolapse (UCP) is when a baby’s umbilical cord, or lifeline, gets squeezed and it cuts off the vital blood supply and oxygen to your baby. Imagine that you are sipping refreshing water through a straw. Now, pinch off that straw with your pointer finger and thumb and see how much water you can get. Not much, right? The same theory applies when there is an umbilical cord prolapse. If your baby’s cord is squeezed, the baby is not getting all the blood and oxygen it should be getting.

An umbilical cord prolapse can happen after your water bag or amniotic sac breaks, allowing the baby’s cord to come out of the womb or uterus before the baby or allowing the cord to drop and be compressed by the baby’s head, shoulder or other body part. An umbilical cord prolapse can be life threatening or cause a brain injury to your baby if not diagnosed and treated right away.

Sometimes, a doctor, obstetrician, nurse midwife, nurse practitioner or nurse can visibly see that your baby’s umbilical cord prolapsed. If that is the case, the health care provider may gently push your baby back up into the uterus to release the pressure off of the cord. Sometimes, an umbilical cord prolapse or compression may not be seen, but the baby monitor or fetal monitor strips will show that there is a potential cord compression.

If your baby’s umbilical cord is being compressed and there is less blood and oxygen getting to your baby, the fetal monitor strips or baby monitor may start to show a change in your baby’s heart rate or well being. The fetal monitor strips are the only way your baby can communicate to the doctor or nurse if something is wrong and if your baby is in distress. The doctors and nurses need to listen to your baby. They need to respond to what your baby is telling them.

If you feel your baby has suffered from a lack of oxygen to the brain during delivery, or now has Cerebral Palsy, and you feel it happened due to medical negligence during labor, delivery or birth, you may want to contact a law firm that is highly experienced and specializes in birth injuries with a proven record of success. Here at the nationally known Beasley Law Firm, our medical professionals have actually worked in neonatal intensive care units and labor and delivery units and we have had billions awarded on behalf of our injured clients.

If you feel your baby was harmed or suffered a brain injury during birth, we are here to help you. Our experienced medical and legal teams know how to read “baby talk”. We know how to read the fetal monitor strips when your baby was talking to the doctors, midwives and nurses. We know how to spot fetal or baby distress. Please feel free to contact one of our experienced birth injury lawyers for a no risk and confidential consultation. The telephone call is free. We are here to really help you. You have been through enough already.